New TN teacher salary schedule for 2014-15

CU MAE could lock in teacher’s salary increase before 2014.

Nashville, April 24th Commissioner Huffman unveiled the state’s plan for teacher salary schedules in a letter to educators, ending speculation about the direction that the state would set.

In his Educator Update, Commissioner Huffman stated that the status quo will remain in place through May 2014, after which districts will determine their own teacher compensation policies. The state has set principles that any plan a district puts forward must meet, but otherwise “seeks to remove barriers to innovation.”

The principles are laid out in TN Code Ann. § 49-3-306(h). An important principle is that teacher raises must include some measure of effectiveness and be available to all; secondly a plan cannot include across-the-board raises based only on years of experience or educational attainment.

The important news for teachers who have been thinking about a Master’s degree is that a teacher’s salary at the end of May 2014 establishes their minimum salary going forward – and the district cannot reduce a teacher’s pay below that amount regardless of the type of compensation reform put in place for 2014-15.

Candidates for a Master’s degree should be strongly encouraged to complete their Master’s degrees and file them with the Department of Education before the beginning of Fiscal Year 2014. The pay raise that can currently be based on educational attainment can be secured prior to the state’s policy changes if the candidate completes the program and files the required forms with the state prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year.